Our Common Birds and How to Know Them 
will be practised, since they are all not only dependent upon each other, but are also 
equally valuable in their results and delightful in their prosecution. The discussion has 
been slight, but sufficient, it is believed, in connection with the few words of advice which 
follow to start the novice upon the right way. 
Cultivate a noiseless footfall, and avoid jerky movements. Choose firm, turfy ground 
when possible, shunning gravel that crunches, sticks that snap, or leaves that rustle. 
Proceeding through bushes and undergrowth, part the branches softly and release them 
with care, that they may not fly back and by their swaying alarm the birds. Train your 
ear to catch every sound and to note its source, not allowing a chirp or twitter to escape 
you or to remain unexplained. Accustom your eye to mark every movement. teaching it 
to discriminate betwixt the wind-stirred leaf and that set in motion by bird or squirrel. 
All this, with practice, will become more and more easy until it will be accomplished 
mechanically—then, a chirp, which once would not have been heard at all, or if by chance 
noticed, would have conveyed no information beyond the simple fact that some unknown 
bird, insect, or, it maybe, toad, was in the branches of yonder tree, will now tell you what 
the creature is and allure you to investigations of delightful interest. 
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